Taking A Break

I will not be posting on this blog until at least August 12th. My schedule is gonna be pretty hectic for the next couple of weeks.

Sorry :(

Tarik Glenn Retires

The rumors were true. Tarik Glenn and the Indianapolis Colts held a press conference yesterday to announce that Tarik Glenn was retiring from the NFL.

The 31 year old Glenn was a first round pick of the Colts out of California in 1997. He started 154 games in his ten year career, all with the Colts. Tarik was selected to the Pro Bowl 3 times.

I wish Tarik wasn't retiring at the age of 31. The guy definitely had some good football left in him, but if you're burned you're burned out. I just wish he had told the Colts sooner so they could have used the extra salary cap room to go after a decent free agent. Now, they have the money but all the decent guys are already signed elsewhere.

Stern's Press Conference

First off let me just say, "What a guy!"

And now for some random thoughts:

I didn't listen to the whole press conference, but there was one thing I caught that I found interesting. "His Holiness" stated the NBA wasn't informed by the FBI about the investigation until June 20th. The "Little DICKtator" went on to state that the NBA wanted to fire Donaghy immediately upon hearing about the FBI's investigation, but the FBI asked the NBA to keep Donaghy employed so they could gather more info. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me since the NBA season was over by June 20th. Maybe I'm reading too much into this part of the press conference. I don't know. I just find it hard to believe anything that comes out of David Stern's mouth.

I can't help but wonder if any of the FBI investigators that were working on the Donaghy case are basketball fans. If so, I wonder what they were thinking when they were watching that Spurs-Suns game.

Did anyone else notice how careful the "Manipulative Munchkin" chose his words when addressing the question about other referees possibly being involved? It sure seemed like he left the door a little ajar in case other referees do get implicated in this whole mess sometime in the future. I got the distinct impression that he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince everyone else. Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I haven't heard anyone choose their words that carefully since I heard, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

I was really starting to dislike this Donaghy guy until I heard he once punched Joey Crawford. Man, I can't tell you the number of times I wanted to punch Joey Crawford. Now I am actually torn. I don't like Donaghy because he may have fixed basketball games, but I can't help but like the guy a little because he punched Joey Crawford. I think I may be leaning more towards not liking Donaghy because he fixed basketball games. If he had punched David Stern, though, that would be a different story.

Have I mentioned that I think David Stern is an idiot?

Recent Pacer Moves

The Pacers announced yesterday that they have signed reserve point guard Travis Diener. Terms of the contract were not revealed, but it is rumored to be a 3 year deal worth $4.9 million. Diener averaged 3.8 points, 1.0 assists, and 10.9 minutes per game for the Orlando Magic last season.

The Pacers opted not to match Toronto's offer sheet to Maceo Baston. This means that Maceo will leave the Pacers and join the Raptors. Baston averaged 8.6 minutes, 2.9 points, and 1.6 rebounds in 47 games for the Pacers last season.

Earlier this month the Pacers also signed guard Kareem Rush. Rush played 4 years in the NBA before being cut by Charlotte last spring. Over his 4 year NBA career Rush averaged 17 minutes and 6.4 points per game. He most recently played in the Lithuanian League where he earned final four MVP honors last season.

Drew Carey Is The New "Bob Barker"

It was announced today that Drew Carey will become the new host of The Price Is Right. I guess this will finally end all the rumors that are still out there about Dan Patrick replacing Bob Barker on the hit CBS game show.

Good Luck to Drew.

You Gotta Read This

OK. I stumbled on this story about Tim Donaghy and the NBA this morning.

According to this Wall Street Journal story, the NBA was investigating Tim Donaghy's gambling habits over a year ago. That means that the NBA had its suspicions and still let Donaghy officiate games. Are you shitting me?

Just another example of why I think David Stern is an idiot and should resign or be fired! He had his "suspicions," but he continued to let Donaghy officiate NBA games anyway. Hell, he even let Donaghy officiate playoff games after he had his "suspicions." Wow! Talk about incompetence in the Commissioner's office.

I wonder how Roger Goodell would have handled this situation? I don't know, but I bet he would have handled it differently. By differently, I mean better. And by better, I mean not like an idiot. And when I say not like an idiot, I mean not like David Stern.


Bill Simmons also wrote a nice editorial that I think is worth reading. You can get it here.

Its also worth your time to read what Ben Collins of Slam Online had to say about David Stern.

While your at it, check out this post at the Sports Frog. According to Sports Frog, Donaghy led the NBA in technical fouls, was fourth in calling personal fouls, third in ordering free throws, and second for fouling out players . All of those rankings are for the 2006-2007 season. Those numbers sure grab your attention.

Anybody Have David Stern's Email Address?

I thought I would drop the Commish an email note this morning to tell him how I feel about the NBA, but I couldn't find an email address anywhere. Oh, there is a "contact" form on the NBA's website, but it requires the user to register before a message can be sent to the NBA. I broke down the HTML code for the site and discovered that the "contact" form appeared to be emailed to nbaletters@nba.com. The code was set for the email address to be hidden, but it wasn't too hard to find. I used the word "appeared" because there were some dashes in the email address when I found it in their HTML code. I played around with the email address and discovered that all of my test emails were sent back to me as "undeliverable" until I removed the dashes. Then, the email went somewhere and wasn't returned. I'm not sure it was the right email address, but I sent them an email anyway. I figured, "what harm could it do?"

Does anyone know of an actual email address for David Stern? I would love to send him a personal note.

I read a good editorial this morning by Steve Czaban on OnMilwaukee.com. It seems I'm not the only guy that thinks David Stern should resign.

UPDATE I just sent an email to dstern@nba.com that wasn't sent back as undeliverable. Perhaps that is Mr. Stern's email address. Who knows.

Tarik Glenn Retiring?

The Indianapolis Star and ESPN are both reporting that Colts starting offensive tackle Tarik Glenn is planning to announce his retirement before the start of training camp.

WRTV in Indianapolis spoke with Glenn yesterday and Tarik apparently told them he was planning on reporting to training camp on time. He did, however, refuse to discuss his reported retirement with WRTV.

So, I guess the issue is still up in the air. The two obvious scenarios are that Tarik really is planning on retiring, or that Tarik is using his retirement as a ploy to get the Colts to sign him to a more lucrative long term contract. Glenn is only 31 years old. One of Glenn's teammates has apparently told the media that this is not a ploy and that Tarik is "burned out."

If Glenn really does retire this creates an enormous problem for the Colts. They do not have anyone else on the roster who is nearly as competent at left tackle as Glenn. They drafted Tony Ugoh this year to be the eventual replacement for Glenn, but Tony is nowhere near ready for that responsibility this season. Charlie Johnson is probably the best choice that the Colts have on the roster right now to replace Glenn. Charlie is a 6'4" 300 pounder out of Oklahoma State. Charlie did get some playing time last year, but it was mostly at right tackle. The good news is that Charlie did look pretty decent when he got playing time. The bad news is that Charlie isn't Tarik Glenn.

The next best option for the Colts would probably be to move Ryan Diem to left tackle, but this would probably mean that the Colts would have to spend some quality money on a backup quarterback. Why a backup quarterback, you ask? Because Ryan Diem is a piss poor pass blocker, that's why. If Ryan moves to left tackle, Peyton will probably get hurt a lot and Jim Sorgi isn't capable of replacing Peyton on a long term basis.

I have a feeling the Colts are going to start looking at some free agent offensive linemen.

David Stern is an Idiot!

I've said it before and I'll say it again. David Stern is an idiot. How much longer are the NBA owners going to sit back and watch David Stern run the NBA into the ground?

The dwindling NBA fan base has been screaming for years about the poor quality of officiating in the NBA. There isn't a week that goes by where you don't hear someone talking about the horrible officiating in an NBA game. Hell, you've even had some players commenting publicly that they knew their team was going to lose the game as soon as they saw who the referees were going to be for that night's game. What has David Stern done to address this problem? He has fined the players and coaches for making public comments. He has also adopted new rules to penalize a player for reacting negatively to calls made by officials during a game (regardless of how poor the call really was). Are you shitting me?

This problem lies solely in David Stern's lap. He has been an arrogant little bastard every time the subject of poor NBA officiating has come up. He hears what the fans are saying, but he doesn't listen. A recent fan poll on ESPN.com showed that 78% of NBA fans think that NBA officials have too much control over the outcome of the games. Think about that for a minute. Gee, I wonder if that number might have anything to do with the poor television ratings?

When this story broke this morning about the "unnamed referee" fixing the point spreads I thought it would be interesting to see what referee names were coming up the most on the message boards and in internet searches. Guess what? I only saw Donaghy's name come up a couple of times. In fact, 90% of the posts and searches that I found focused their suspicions on Steve Javie, Joe Crawford, Bennet Salvatore, or Dick Bavetta. It seems to me that there are an awful lot of people who think that these four guys shouldn't be officiating NBA games. The NBA suddenly has a huge problem on their hands. How can the NBA regain their fans' trust?

I'm thinking Javie, Crawford, Salvatore, and Bavetta should join Donaghy in never being allowed to officiate another NBA game. I'm not necessarily saying those 4 guys did anything illegal, but I think it is pretty obvious that the fans don't trust them. If you want to win back the fans' trust, you have to get rid of those guys. Then, the NBA owners have to get rid of David Stern. That little egomaniac has worn out his welcome. Stern should apologize publicly for the current state of the game, and then he should resign and go home. The NBA would be better off without David Stern.

NBA official is Tim Donaghy

ESPN is reporting that the NBA official that is under investigation by the FBI is Tim Donaghy. You can read the story here.

I would have have bet a lot of money on it being Javie, Crawford, Bavetta, or Salvatore. Hmmm, maybe those guys just haven't been caught yet.

OK, OK

I've received several emails telling me that my thought process on my last post (I Knew It!!!!!) was flawed.

After reading the emails, I have come to agree with my friends that my reasoning as to which ref was fixing games was completely flawed. The "over/under %" really isn't significant when looking to see which refs are fixing games. Obviously, the refs could fix the games in either direction of the over/under if they wanted. So, please stop sending me emails telling me that I am an Idiot. I already know I am an idiot. However, I do think that if you are going to bet on NBA games as an outsider, then the "over/under %" on the refs calling the game is significant.

The funny thing about all the emails, though, is that virtually every one of them agreed that the six refs I mentioned are the most likely candidates for the "bad ref." Although several emails also included the names Dick Bavetta, Steve Javie, and Joe Forte. So, I'd like to add those 3 names to the 6 I already mentioned as strong possibilities.

I Knew It!!!!!

It is being reported that the FBI is investigating an NBA referee for allegedly betting on NBA games, including games that he was officiating. The official, whose name was withheld, allegedly wagered on games during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 NBA seasons.

The New York Post broke the story this morning that the FBI has been involved in a year long investigation looking into allegations that an NBA referee has been betting on games and making calls that affected the point spread on games that he/she officiated. The FBI has declined comment on the story.

Federal agents are set to arrest the referee and a cadre of mobsters and their associates who lined their pockets, sources told the Post.

David Stern is supposedly aware of the situation, but has not commented.

I have no idea who the referee is, but my money is on Joe Crawford or Steve Javie. I'm just throwing those names out there because I think they make some seriously strange calls sometimes. Hell, Joe Crawford is the main reason I stopped watching NBA games. I've thought Joe was fixing games for years.

But, seriously. Take a look at Coverwire.com's data on NBA referees from the 06-07 season. Take a look at the ref's "Over %". If you're looking for a ref affecting gambling outcomes, the "over/under" is what you want to look at. I don't think there is any way that a referee would be crazy enough to try to make a big enough impact on a game to change the winner/loser. It would be too easy to get caught. Therefore, it would only make sense to focus on the over/under which would be really easy for a referee to manipulate. Ideally if a ref works a high number of games, the "over/under" should be close to 50 percent. I think you could take the 50 percent and add a + or - of 10 percent and still feel fairly good about the ref's honesty in an "ideal world." Any "over/under" percentage outside of the 40-60 percent range would make me start asking questions. A score outside of the 40-60 range doesn't necessarily mean the ref is dishonest. I'm just saying that if I was a betting man I would bet on games that those guys were officiating based on their previous "over/under" percentage. Keep in mind, all of this data and speculation is based on the original accuracy of the "over/under", which isn't exactly a precise science.

If you look at Coverwire's data, you will see there are 11 referees who fall out of the 40-60 range. Of those 11, 6 officiated a high number of games and fell well out of the 40-60 range. Those 6 are Jim Clark ( 66 games with a .651%), Orlandis Poole (54 games with a .627%), Bennet Salvatore (61 games with a .621%), Joe Crawford (42 games with a .357%), Kevin Fehr (60 games with a .356%), and Luis Grillo (42 games with a .350%). I'll bet the guy under investigation is one of those 6. Based on the statistics alone, the most obvious choice to me would be Jim Clark or Kevin Fehr. You could throw Joe Crawford and Luis Grillo in there as well, but they didn't ref as many games as Clark and Fehr so their numbers aren't as statistically significant. I'm not making any accusations. I'm just analyzing the statistics on Coverwire's website.

I have no idea who it is, and I really don't care. The poor quality of officiating in the NBA drove me away from the League years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI arrested all of the refs in the NBA and then discovered that David Stern was also involved in fixing games.

I just got an email from a friend of mine reminding me about a post I made on this blog back in April. Click here to read it. Kind of prophetic, huh?

More on Ronny Thompson

This guy is starting to sound like a real piece of work.

I knew when Ball State first hired Ronny Thompson that they were taking a risk. But, I thought it was a pretty decent hire considering the shape that the basketball program was in at the time. It didn't take long after the hire for me to decide that I wasn't a Ronny Thompson fan. Every day I think I dislike the man a little more.

There is another story in the Muncie Star Press this morning that again depicts Ronny as being a real ass. I keep reading all these stories and I can't help but wonder what BSU AD Collins and Pres Gora could have possibly seen from this guy during the interview process.

The topic of this morning's story is the $7749 that Ball State paid to send Ronny and his coaching staff to Miami for an NCAA rules seminar. The University thought it would be a good idea to send the coaching staff to the seminar because Ronny and his guys seemed to be having some problems following the rules. The expense reports from that trip show that Ball State paid $199 for each man to get a private room at the Marriot Biscayne Bay Hotel. There were five men on the trip and they stayed for 3 nights. The bill for the hotel was $3,473.78. The University also paid the airfare for the 5 men which totaled $2,215.50. The University also apparently reserved 2 rental cars in Miami.

The reserved rental cars are what really pisses me off. Ball State had reserved 2 rental cars according to the Star Press story. One car was for Thompson, and the other car was for Kyle Brennan, the Director of Athletic Compliance, who was accompanying the 4 coaches on the trip. The University reserved 2 cars through Hertz. The cost of the cars that Ball State reserved were $65 per day. One would think that $65 for a rental car would have been sufficient since the coaches would probably be spending most of their time in the seminar. Apparently Mr. Brennan found a Ford Taurus within the budget to be adequate, but Ronny found the $65 per day that Ball State had allotted for a car to be beneath him. So, Ronny upgraded his reservation to a Lincoln Navigator. When Ronny got back to Muncie, he submitted the expense to the University. The Navigator cost $199 per day for "His Majesty." The total cost for the three-day rental of the Navigator, including taxes, was $823.16. The total cost for Brennan to drive the Taurus for 3 days was $346.75.

Read the Muncie Star Press story here.

Next Ball State B-Ball coach?

What about Ron Hunter from IUPUI? He seems like a real quality guy and a great recruiter. He has also turned in some fantastic seasons for the Jaguars. I know he has turned down some other jobs in the past because he likes Indy, but maybe Muncie is close enough to "home" for him to consider the job. Ball State won't know unless they contact him.

Check out his bio here.

Ronny Thompson update

The Muncie Star Press is reporting today that "E-mail correspondence between Ball State's administrative leaders and former basketball coach Ronny Thompson shows the coach discussed resigning more than a month before his official departure on Friday, and his superiors tried to convince him to talk to the media to quell rumors that he would leave." If this is true, then it means that Ronny Thompson wanted to leave before the "anonymous notes" were left in the basketball offices.

Read the Muncie Star Press story here.

Read the Ball State Daily News story here. This story is a little more detailed and depicts Ronny Thompson a little more negatively.

The Latest on Dan Patrick

It is now being widely reported that Dan Patrick will return to radio on September 9th. His new show will apparently be distributed by The Content Factory across 9 platforms, including "AM/FM radio, satellite and HD radio, online, TV, mobile phone, publishing, out-of-home video, retail and event marketing", and has already been offered to some ESPN Radio stations.

You can check out the Sports Media Watch story here.

Dan Patrick

Is anybody else getting tired of hearing all the Dan Patrick rumors? I read a message board post this morning claiming that Dan Patrick had been hired by the WNBA to do play by play for their televised games. I'm sure if that rumor were true it would probably double the WNBA TV ratings to like 6 viewers per game. Come on, that one is ridiculous.

Other rumors I have heard include; Dan going to the NFL Network, Dan replacing Imus on WFAN, Dan going to satellite radio, Dan replacing Bob Barker on the Price is Right, and Dan going to FOX. I'm sure I am missing a few really juicy rumors, but you get the idea.

I think Dan is a "radio guy." For that reason, I think Dan will stick with radio.

Like father, like son??

Let me start by saying that I don't know if there is any truth to what I am about to discuss. This was mentioned on a message board that I was reading this morning and I did some internet searches and I was able to find other websites that did mention it. But, to be fair I must state that, "just because you read something on the internet it doesn't make it true." So, what am I talking about?

You may have read a few previous posts on this blog where I have mentioned the rumors floating around Ball State that say Ronny Thompson may have planted the infamous "racist notes" in his own office. I have seen no proof that Ronny actually did this. I just blogged about what I have been hearing and reading.

Well, this morning I read a post on a message board that accused Ronny's father of basically doing the same thing when he was the head coach at Georgetown. The post said that, "John Thompson once snuck into Georgetown's basketball arena and hung a banner with the "n word" demanding that "Thompson" be fired." Apparently this was before John had resurrected the program and there was some significant grumblings from the fans and alumni demanding that Thompson be fired. The University was obviously embarrassed and reacted by removing the banner and offering John a contract extension with a pay raise. The message board post went on to state that John Thompson later admitted to placing the banner in the arena himself. Of course, John didn't admit what he had done until after he had established Georgetown as a perennial power in college basketball. If this story is true, it is just another example of how some people can get away with anything and come out smelling like a rose.

So, did Ronny try the same underhanded tactic at Ball State that his father is alleged to have perpetrated at Georgetown many years ago? The circumstances are very similar. That's all I am going to say. I am going to stop short of making any accusations.

Like father, like son? You decide.

Azubuike inks 2 year deal

Former UK guard Kelenna Azubuike has reportedly signed a 2 year deal with the Golden State Warriors. The deal is worth a guaranteed $1.5 million.

Azubuike was the leading scorer in the NBA Development League last year when Golden State took notice and called him up to compete with the big boys. Kelenna averaged 7 points and 16 minutes a game after being called up to the Warriors last season. Azubuike has also averaged 21 points a game in 2 summer league starts for Golden State this year.

587 for Griffey!

Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 587th home run tonight in a 10-3 victory over Atlanta. Tonight's home run moves Junior past Frank Robinson and into sole possession of 6th place on the all-time home run list. Sammy Sosa currently sits in 5th place on the list with 602 career home runs.

Bobby Livingston turned in a decent performance on the mound for the Reds tonight. Bobby pitched 5 innings and gave up 8 hits and 2 earned runs. Livingston also went 4-4 from the plate with an RBI. Bobby earned the "W" and is now 2-0 this season for the Reds. The Reds just called up Livingston from AAA Louisville before the game. His last victory for the Reds came all the way back on June 1st against the Rockies.

Todd Coffey was also able to come into the game tonight and get an out without allowing any hitters to get a home run or even get on base. Todd only faced one batter, but he was able to get him to fly out. I think that is pretty remarkable considering the way Todd has been pitching lately.

Ronny Thompson update

It is now being reported that there was a clause in Ronny Thompson's contract that may require him to pay Ball State University $175,000. According to a story on BSU Daily News, Thompson will owe the university the "amount equal to his annual base salary for the contract year in which such termination occurs." Thompson's base salary was $175,000 in his first year, which ran from April 4, 2006 to March 31, 2007. Thompson would have made $181,000 in his second season at Ball State.

Tony Proudfoot, Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communication at Ball State, says "there will be no buyout" of Ronny Thompson's contract. Athletic Director Tom Collins also said it is very likely that Thompson will owe Ball State a "large chunk of money." These statements make me think that Ronny Thompson's departure was anything but amicable.

The BSU Daily News goes on to state that there is another provision in Thompson's contract that would possibly allow Thompson to resign without penalty if "any cause of hostilities" beyond Thompson's control is brought against him or his program. It is thought by some that the anonymous notes containing racial slurs against Thompson may be considered a "hostility."

Something just doesn't seem right about this whole situation. I'm really starting to think there may be some truth to the rumors about Thompson being behind the anonymous letters. $175,000 would be a pretty good motive if you ask me.

Ronny Thompson resigns at BSU

Most of you who are reading this post probably don't even know who Ronny Thompson is. I'm going to keep this short, so I'm just going to tell you that he is the son of the most overrated college basketball coach of all time (John Thompson), and Ronny is also the guy who completely destroyed Ball State's basketball program in less than a year.

Ronny announced his resignation as head basketball coach at Ball State University on Thursday. There has been speculation for several weeks that Ronny might not be back next season. In his first and only year at BSU, Ronny had several players transfer, set a school record for most losses in a season (22), and got caught violating NCAA rules twice. Supposedly the final straw came a few weeks ago when someone broke into the athletic offices at BSU and left some nasty notes about Coach Thompson in the basketball coach's offices. These messages reportedly contained the words, "liar," "cheater," and the "n word." Of course, Ball State launched an investigation immediately after the notes were found. Ronny Thompson virtually disappeared from that point forward. Ronny disappearing wasn't that unusual. That's been one of the complaints about Ronny since he has been at Ball State.

Well, now Ronny has resigned presumably because of the "racist atmosphere" that exists at Ball State. The BSU Athletic Director (Tom Collins) refused to go into any detail about why Thompson was leaving during his news conference yesterday. I have no idea why Thompson is really leaving, but I can tell you that the rumor floating around campus is that Ronny Thompson may have written the notes himself. There are some people who feel that Thompson couldn't take the criticism after posting such a horrible record in his first season. There are also some people who think Thompson's job was already in jeopardy after getting caught breaking the same NCAA rule twice in one year. Perhaps Ronny did write the notes so that he had an excuse to resign before he was fired. I am sure that Ronny is so distraught over the "racist environment" that exists at Ball State that he is probably threatening BSU with a lawsuit if they don't give him some kind of monetary settlement. And, I'm sure Ball State will probably give Ronny whatever he wants just to avoid having Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton show up on campus running their mouths and posing for pictures.

When you think about it, I suppose that it does make sense that Ronny Thompson could have written those notes himself. Resigning and getting a nice severance package sure beats the hell out of getting fired because you are horrible at your job. The important thing to remember here is that Ronny Thompson is no longer the head basketball coach at Ball State. I suppose that is reason to celebrate.

I think the first person that AD Collins should contact about the open coaching position is Ray McCallum, who is currently employed as an assistant coach at Indiana University. Ray grew up in Muncie and played basketball at Ball State. Ray also used to be the head coach at Ball State where he compiled a 126-76 record from 1993 - 2000. Ray left Ball State in 2000 to become the head coach at Houston, and he stayed there until 2004. He has been an assistant for Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma and Indiana ever since. Ray is familiar with recruiting in Indiana and he was very popular when he previously coached at Ball State. I know he is the guy I am hoping takes the job.

F1 not returning to Indy in '08

Who cares? Tony George announced today that he was unable to reach an agreement with Bernie Eccle$tone and F1 will not be returning to Indianapolis in 2008. Tony did say that there is a chance that F1 could return to Indy at some point in the future. But F1 is gone for now.

In my opinion, F1 is the most pathetic form of auto racing that I have ever seen. Half of the races look completely fixed with drivers appearing to pull over and slow down so that other drivers can pass them near the end of the race. I know all of you elitist F1 fans out there are probably whining and calling me a "stupid American" right now. I've heard it all before about how popular F1 is overseas and how we Americans just don't have enough "culture" to enjoy such a classy form of auto racing.

I hear you all loud and clear, but I choose to disagree with you. I think the reason Americans don't watch open wheel racing is primarily because we are inundated with other forms of entertainment that we find more appealing. The European markets just don't have as many different kinds of sporting events and entertainment as we have here in America. Let's face it, CART was popular for a very long time in the U.S. until NASCAR became more mainstream and started getting more TV time. Then, the American public fell in love with bump drafting and began to lose interest in the "no contact" sport of open wheel racing. Now NASCAR is growing exponentially while CART and IRL are dying slow deaths. Given the choice between NASCAR and CART, the American people chose NASCAR because they find it more entertaining and they can easily pronounce all of the driver's names. Its not just open wheel racing, either. If you look at the TV ratings in the United States you'll see that MLB, NHL, and the NBA are all suffering from a lack of interest by the American public. These all used to be fairly popular leagues in America, but now they have to compete with other forms of entertainment that didn't exist 25 years ago.

I won't miss F1 or his highness Bernie Eccle$tone. I say good riddance and I hope Tony George finds a way to bring NASCAR to INDY for a second race every year. I think it would be fantastic if the Indy road course could be modified for stock car racing. Then there could be a Nextel race on the road course every year in addition to the Brickyard and the Indy 500 on the oval.

NCAA should sanction itself

Have you ever noticed how some people can do whatever they want and nothing ever seems to stick to them?

I read the story yesterday about how the NCAA is forcing Oklahoma to forfeit all of it's games from the 2005 season. I guess I don't have too much of a problem with this since Oklahoma has admitted that it had two players (Bomar and Quinn) who got payed by a local car dealership for jobs that they didn't actually perform. I do think that the punishment was a little severe considering that Oklahoma self reported and sanctioned itself.

I suppose the thing that bothered me the most about this story is that it reminds me again that the NCAA selectively enforces its rules on both athletes and universities. Case in Point; Jim Tressel. I know I'm going to catch hell for saying this but I think he may run the dirtiest program in college athletics. If you don't believe me, check out this story that ESPN ran about Jim Tressel. During Ohio State's championship season there were all kinds of violations going on in the Buckeye program, but the NCAA didn't find out until after the season was over. The NCAA didn't do anything about it because they didn't want to have to deal with the precedent of Ohio State forfeiting it's National Championship. The evidence is just as strong in the Ohio State case as it is in the Oklahoma case. The only reason Oklahoma is getting punished so hard is because they didn't win the championship in 2005 and their coach told the truth when he found a problem. This fiasco will probably end up sticking to Bob Stoops for the rest of his career, while Jim Tressel somehow continues his coaching career with his "good" reputation intact.

I don't see the difference between college players getting paid by a car dealership for work they didn't perform and a college player having a car dealership give him a black Monte Carlo for work he didn't perform. Or how about a booster paying thousands of dollars in cell phone bills for a player. Nah, the only difference here is that Bob Stoops is an ethical guy who told the truth when he found out that two of his players were breaking the rules. Bob, and his employer, are now going to pay an enormous price for telling the truth. They should have followed Jim Tressel's lead and just lied to the NCAA and the investigators. Its really sad, the NCAA appears to be rewarding liars and cheats while punishing people who tell the truth. I have to say, though, that I'm not surprised.

Myles Brand wants us to believe that he is cleaning up college athletics. Myles Brand, Dick Pound, Bud Selig, and David Stern all have egos that are too big to effectively run their organizations. They all seem to care more about individual fame than they do about the reputations of the organizations that they represent. I have no use for any of them. But, nothing ever sticks to them either.

Pac Man at it again

WKRN in Nashville is reporting that Adam Jones received "several driving citations" after being pulled over by a sheriff's deputy on June 10th at 8:30 a.m. Apparently Pac Man was stopped because the license plate didn't match the $300,000 Lamborghini he was driving. It doesn't appear to be a big deal as Pac Man had just switched the plate from another vehicle that he does legally own. Police did cite him with a registration violation as well as failure to produce proof of insurance, and also for a residency violation for still having a Georgia driver's license.

I don't know Adam from Adam (sorry, I couldn't resist that one.) But, surely to God someone who makes that kind of money could afford to register and license his Lamborghini. And the guy isn't playing football right now, wouldn't you think that he could find the time to go get a new driver's license for the state that he actually lives in? At least he didn't get pulled over at 3:00 A.M. this time. I saw the 8:30 A.M. in the original story and had to wonder if Pac Man was still out from the night before.

I'm going to refrain from judging the guy because I don't know him, but he needs to get his act together if he ever wants to play football again.

Homer Bailey sent back to Louisville

The Reds decided to option Homer Bailey back down to AAA Louisville yesterday. Homer had a record of 2-2 with an ERA of 6.99 with the Reds in 6 starts since being called up in June. Cincinnati called up infielder Pedro Lopez to fill Bailey's spot on the Red's roster.

I think the Reds gave up on Bailey a little too soon. Of the 6 starts that Bailey had this year, 3 of them were pretty good. In his first start he went 5 innings and gave up 2 earned runs. In his third start he went 7 innings and gave up 1 earned run. In his 6th start he went 5 innings and again only gave up 1 earned run. He didn't do so well in his other 3 starts, but the Reds do have a .500 record in the games that Bailey started. The Reds have a losing record when any of their other regular starters pitched, except for Aaron Harang. The Reds are 14-5 in games that Aaron Harang has started this season. Aaron Harang should have been selected for the All-Star game. Especially considering how awful the Reds bullpen has been. Its a wonder that Harang has a record of 9-2.

If you ask my opinion, the Reds should have sent Todd Coffey down to Louisville. I don't know what happened to Todd this year, but I can't stand to watch the guy pitch anymore. I don't see why the Reds didn't give Bailey a shot in the bullpen. Lord knows he wouldn't have been any worse than anybody else. From what I have seen of Homer this year I think he would have probably done fairly well in long relief. Hopefully we'll see him called up again this year.

Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN

Dan Patrick announced today on his radio show that he will be leaving ESPN. His last on air appearance for ESPN is scheduled for August 17th. Dan started at ESPN in 1989 as an anchor on Sportscenter where he was a mainstay until 2006. Dan also had his own show on ESPN Radio which started in 1999.

There wasn't too much detail given about Dan's departure from ESPN, but it seems to be amicable. Dan stated that he wanted to pursue "new endeavors." I can't help but wonder if there may have been some truth behind the rumors about Dan replacing Bob Barker on "The Price is Right." I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I'm sure Dan will do well wherever he ends up. My main concern is about who will fill Dan's time slot on the radio. I'm just praying that it won't be Colin Cow(shit for brains)herd or Stephen A.(for asshole) Smith. ESPN's talent pool just keeps getting shallower and shallower. Mike and Mike will probably be the only show I listen to on ESPN Radio from now on.

NL second basemen

Check out these numbers:

AB Hits Runs 2B 3B HR RBI SB OBP SLG FPCT E
343_111_63_34__3_15__68__6__.400__.571__.984_7
324_96__40_20__5__7__47__3__.380__.454__.979_9
352_97__60_13__4__17__47_16_.323__.480__.989_5


The first row is Chase Utley, the second row is Orlando Hudson, and the third row is Brandon Phillips. Utley and Hudson made the All Star game as the second basemen for the National League. Look at the numbers and tell me Brandon Phillips wasn't just as deserving.

More UK recruits?

John Clay reports in his Sidelines blog that a reporter from Fox Sports is saying that 7 prominent new basketball recruits have suddenly started to show interest in Kentucky. I would assume this interest is a result of Billy Gillespie's tireless recruiting. The names of the new recruits are: Rinardo Sidney (F), Demarcus Cousins (C), Dominic Cheek (SG), Shawn Williams(SG-SF), Gregory Echenique (C), Noel Johnson (SG), and Stephan Van Treese (PF). All are listed as being Top 40 recruits.

Wow! Does Billy Gillespie ever sleep?

Landis might know today

It is being reported by a Belgian website that the USADA will release their verdict on Floyd Landis today. This appears to be nothing more than a rumor, but you never know. If you want to find out the latest info and rumors about the Floyd Landis hearing, you may want to check out Trust But Verify

My gut instinct tells me that the USADA is going to rule against Floyd. But, I suppose it doesn't really matter as far as the Tour De France is concerned because the French have already announced that they are waiting for the outcome of the USADA hearing before they commence their own proceedings. So even if Floyd is victorious in his challenge of the USADA, the lying, scheming little Frenchies will probably still take his Tour title away just because he is an American. In case I haven't mentioned it before, I am not too fond of the French.

It still appears that Floyd will take part in the Leadville 100 on August 11th in Leadville, Colorado. I will be in the area on a fly fishing trip and may try to get over there to watch. There is a rumor that Lance Armstrong may compete there as well.

Gore III arrested for drug possession

The son of the former Vice President was arrested in California Wednesday morning for allegedly possessing marijuana and prescription drugs. He was pulled over for speeding on the San Diego Freeway just south of Los Angeles. Police apparently smelled marijuana and searched the car. The subsequent search turned up less than one ounce of marijuana and the prescription drugs Xanax, Valium, Vicadin and Adderrall. It is being reported that Gore III doesn't have a prescription for any of those drugs. Gore III was released from jail after posting a $20000 bond.

I wouldn't normally acknowledge a story like this on my blog. But, there are a few things about this story that I find amusing. First, this isn't the first time that Al Gore III has been arrested. Gore III was also arrested for marijuana possession in 2003 and for drunk driving in 2002. Gore III was also ticketed for reckless driving in 2000. I find this humorous because Little Al is the son of Tipper Gore. Some of you may remember that Tipper was behind the "Moral Majority" movement back in the '80's. She was the one standing on her soap box preaching about the sins of obscenities, drugs, and violence in America. She tried to get the government to censor our movies and music. I find it ironic that she was doing her best to tell the rest of us how to conduct our lives and raise our children while she was apparently not doing a very good job with her own children. "Do as I say and not as I do."

The second thing that I find amusing about this story is that Al Gore III is an associate publisher for GOOD magazine which is a publication aimed at promoting philanthropy to America's youth. I'm thinking maybe Little Al should spend a little more of his time and money practicing what he is preaching instead of spending so much time and money on drinking and doing drugs. It seems that I am noticing a pattern here with the Gore family trying to tell everyone else how to live their lives while they do whatever the hell they want. Al Gore III's daddy keeps preaching about global warming while he consumes $30000 worth of electricity and gas per year in his mansion in Tennessee.

But the item that really caught my attention with this story was the fact that Al Gore III was pulled over for driving in excess of 100 miles per hour. That's pretty fast, especially considering that he was driving a Toyota Prius. I had no idea that a Prius could go that fast.

More UK rumors

6'4" shooting guard Eshaunte Jones from Fort Wayne, Indiana, apparently stated last week that he will revisit his choice of colleges. Jones will be a high school senior this fall. Jones had earlier committed to play basketball at Indiana University, but has now stated that he will reconsider. Jones is planning on visiting UK as well as UCLA and Missouri before making a final decision. Cincinnati and Oklahoma have also been mentioned as possible options. Jones' summer league coach says that IU is still the frontrunner.

Also, Billy Gillespie has apparently obtained an oral commitment from 6'1" point guard KC Ross-Miller from Dallas, Texas. KC just finished his freshman year in high school, so he will be joining Dakotah Euton as the first 2 UK signings for the class of 2010. Hoop Scoop currently has Ross-Miller rated as the 5th best player in the class of 2010.

Narron has been fired

I guess Bob Castellini finally saw enough. Manager Jerry Narron was fired last night after the Reds lost to St. Louis 11-7. The Reds currently sit 16.5 games out of first place with a record of 31 - 51, which is the worst record in Major League Baseball. Pete Mackanin has been named the interim manager. Pete most recently managed the last 26 games of the 2005 season for the Pittsburgh Pirates after Lloyd McClendon was fired. Pete also managed at Triple A Nashville from 1990-1992.

I say its about time that Narron was let go. His platooning and constant poor management of the pitching staff was driving me crazy. I know that some players need time off occasionally to stay in optimum health, but you just don't sit down somebody that is carrying the team offensively in favor of a guy who is hitting below the Mendoza line. I know that the Reds' pitching staff is having a rough year, but I almost never understand what Jerry is thinking when he makes pitching changes.

Since I'm talking baseball, I'd like to acknowledge that Adam Dunn and Brandon Phillips were both deserving of being selected for the All Star Game. Both players were left off the roster, but both are having All Star seasons as far as I concerned.